Youtube "Matched Third Party Content"

scubalab

Well, let me first off say I should have known better, but here's the lowdown...

Picked up a GoPro to use for family vacations. Had the opportunity to get some great videos last month on a 2+ week family vacation to some of the National Parks in the southwest. Have always loved the videos people make of their adventures and post on Youtube. So, thought we'd give it a try.

Finally had a block of enough time this past weekend to pull some videos together and have to say that they didn't come out half bad! The sound quality on the GoPro isn't the best, so most of the clips were muted. Their software allows you to add an audio track, so I did what I saw so many others do - I added a 'fitting' song to each of the final videos. I posted them to our Youtube channel and sent the link to friends and relatives.

Not surprising, Youtube's filters found "Matched Third Party Content". I used a U2 song and an IZ song from my music library.

I respect ownership of music, and should probably just take the videos down, but there is a lot of differing advice and opinions out there on this exact issue. Just wondering what the thought here is.

Now, we have had the Youtube channel for about 4-5 years and have only posted 8 videos (including the latest two). We don't monetize any videos nor do we ever intend to (I know... never say never). I use the site basically as an easy way to share videos with friends and family.

Basically with "matched third party content" on Youtube, you have several options:

1. Acknowledge the claim - I guess this basically throws the decision to the rightful owner of the content (they can block the video, mute it, or put ads on it (for their monetary gain) and links to purchase the audio.
2. Remove the music.
3. Swap the music with 'free-to-use' songs.
4. Dispute the claim.
5. Take down the video.

I don't want to re-do the videos, so my options are take the video down, or leave them up and "acknowledge" the claim. I'd like to leave them up since it's how we share our life with out-of-town grandparents/friends/etc. I have no interest in monetary gain from these videos, but if the rightful owner of the music does, it seems a fair trade to me! My question/concern is whether they would now 'own' my video content (as well) BEYOND the original Youtube video. I think all acknowledging the claim does is allow them to monetize the video (through ads and viewership tracking)...

I guess I could also 'do nothing' (leave them and not acknowledge). Many forums suggest doing just that, but I don't feel right doing that.

Don't really want to take the videos down yet, as I'd like friends/family to see them. But, if that is the ethical/legal/correct thing to do, then we will do just that!

Again, this was done innocently, for fun, and in NO way to gain from them (other than compliments on the vacation).

So, what would you do? Has anyone else had similar experiences and what was the end result?

tonyb

Remove the music...doesn't seem like such a hard choice.

scubalab

Yeah, probably will just pull the videos. Removing the music from an edited collection of video clips (most with no other sound) that were done so to 'fit' with the music would be like removing the drum track from a Led Zeppelin song. It just sucks because of all the effort getting it to 'work'. The end result is mostly for our own viewing, but just liked sharing with family. We'll still have our copies I guess.

I just don't understand if I'm not gaining from it why it's an issue. Yeah, it's the law, but I'd say a good 25% of new music we BUY online is a result of hearing a good song someone used in their YouTube video. The owner of the music gained a sale and new fan/customer. Don't see how that 'free' advertising isn't a great thing for them!

What's most frustrating is if I have the radio on in the background of my daughter's birthday party, I shoot a video, and part of the song could be heard, it falls under the same rules. Also, people have gotten the same warnings walking down the street in Vegas if a song is playing in the background at a casino while they're videotaping and put it on YouTube.

I guess I'm just more curious if it's a YouTube CYA thing and the owners of the music actually take advantage of the 'free advertising' and let it go. Was wondering how all the other videos are allowed, and if anyone here had first hand experience with this issue.

Dennis Gardner

Its called copyright law and it is the only thing that protects the viability of peoples talents. It may not be convenient for you, but if you had intellectual property that was your chosen way of making a living, I think you would want the protection.

It isn't any different than someone at work, stealing your idea to look good. I'm sure you would sit back and enjoy their success.

scubalab

Dennis, I know what the law is called, and I certainly respect the protection to the intellectual property. I agree wholeheartedly that someone 'stealing' someone else's intellectual property for their own gain based on the stolen property is absolutely wrong and that is illegal. I don't however see how it is similar to the analogy you provided. In your analogy, someone would have STOLEN my work, claimed it as their own, and made a profit from that action.

A more appropriate analogy would be if I were a painter who painted a mural on someone's wall (for which I was paid). Then that person (who is NOT a painter...) took a video of their family playing in front of the mural. Now that person posts the video on YouTube (and it is NOT monetized). They even go so far as to say 'Shot in front of a beautiful mural painted by scubalab'. They did not steal the painting. They did not claim it as their own. They did not reap any benefits due to the painting being in the background. Then yes, I WOULD sit back and enjoy the free advertising it gives me.

I know it's a fine line and I'm probably kicking the bee's nest. (And, please understand that I actually agree with you on protection of intellectual property.) It just seems like this is a grey area based on how YouTube describes it. I was just wondering if anyone had any personal experience with it. There are SO many other videos on YouTube with songs in the background. Some have links to buy the song as well as advertisements. So, there must be some legality in it. Even YouTube says 'you are not in trouble'... I was just trying to see if anyone else knew how it worked.

Again, I am not looking for monetary gain from this and I'm not 'trying to look good'. Heck, I didn't even provide a link to the videos here! I don't think that by posting the video on YouTube would allow someone else to 'pirate' the song from it, would it?

I respect the opinions of everyone, and certainly respect the law. I honestly did not think that using music that I paid for was breaking the law. If it is, then I respect that and will consider this a lesson learned. I will pull the videos and not do it again. It is a bit confusing to me understanding when the line is crossed...

Can I listen to my music while I'm watching a video of mine? Would think absolutely.
Can I add the music to the video's soundtrack for my own personal viewing? Again, I would think so...
Can I show someone else the video from my computer? Once again, I would think so...
Can I GIVE a friend a copy of the video? Not sure here...
Can I post the video on YouTube and acknowledge the third party's ownership of the music? I think yes, since YouTube allows that option.
Can I post the video on YouTube, NOT acknowledge, but NOT monetize? I would think no.
Can I post the video on YouTube, NOT acknowledge, and monetize? I would think absolutely no!

I hope I'm not coming off as argumentative, and if I am, I certainly don't mean to! I love a good discussion/debate. I love good music and respect the talents of the artists. Lord knows I certainly don't have similar talents!! The music inspired me so much that I felt it made our home movies that much better. And, I encourage people to BUY the music for themselves. Again, I can't tell you how many times I've watched a YouTube video, fell in love with the music they added, read the description or comments to find the name of the song and the artist, and ultimately bought the song for myself! I'm thankful to the poster of the video for 'introducing me' to the song, and I would thing the artist is thankful to have gained a new fan/customer.

recoveryone

I would just accept/acknowledge the use and let them add the ads to your clips, not really a big deal and at the bottom of your clip it would state the name of the song used along with the artist with a link if someone wanted to buy the track.

In the future I would suggest only using a small part of a song and loop it, there is a rule that allows 15-30 sec of audio to be used without violating the copyright law, broadcast stations do it all the time. Even better is to find an instrumental version of the song and do a small sample loop. In many cases its the lyrics that are copyrighted and not the actual beat of the song.

Here's one I did years ago at the Calfornia Speedway for a buddy it was two years before Youtube found the music I used. http://youtu.be/6P_J5R4Vwyk

Dennis Gardner

It is the broadcast that is the problem. You only paid for the private rights of the music not the rebroadcasting rights.You put it out there for potentially millions to hear or view. Way different than playing it at your backyard BBQ.

Don't take me wrong, I'm not condemning what you did, just helping understand where we are at in this new world of instant broadcasting. I recall recently that they were looking into anyone that had a home theater with a certain number of seats may fall under the broadcast law.

nspindel

I've had this happen to me as well. I was the photographer for my son's football team last year, and after the season I put together a slide show and set it to music, exported it to a video, and uploaded to youtube. Played just fine for me. But when others tried to view it they got the same error that you're seeing. I went in and did the acknowledgment, I checked the option saying I had the right to use the music, and all was fine from there. What are the exact legalities here? No clue. If someone decides they want to come after me over a kid's football slideshow, I guess I'll deal with it then...

scubalab

Dennis Gardner wrote: »

It is the broadcast that is the problem. You only paid for the private rights of the music not the rebroadcasting rights.You put it out there for potentially millions to hear or view. Way different than playing it at your backyard BBQ.

Don't take me wrong, I'm not condemning what you did, just helping understand where we are at in this new world of instant broadcasting. I recall recently that they were looking into anyone that had a home theater with a certain number of seats may fall under the broadcast law.

Dennis, that makes sense (and I hope I didn't come off as defensive previously)! Kind of like a DJ playing music... I don't believe they have to get approval from EVERY artist in their collection, but from what I've read if they are playing digital music from a hard drive (and an IPod is considered a HD) they need a license at somewhere in the $300-$400 range. I guess if they play directly from an original CD, LP, Tape they don't need a license, but it's still recommended.

That is CRAZY about the home theater use! We just went to a minor league baseball game a couple weekends ago. It was Girl Scout night (Scout families camped on the outfield after the game). They played the movie Frozen on the jumbotron... I doubt they had any license! You could tell someone just hooked up a bluray player to the AV for the stadium. Also, our kids' elementary school has family movie night a couple times a year. I know they don't get any prior approval!

scubalab

recoveryone wrote: »

I would just accept/acknowledge the use and let them add the ads to your clips, not really a big deal and at the bottom of your clip it would state the name of the song used along with the artist with a link if someone wanted to buy the track.

That's what I'm leaning towards doing. I just got a little concerned the way YouTube says 'everything is fine' and the owner could monetize your video. But they go on to implying that the owner could change their mind at any time. I wondered if that meant they could come back after you once the hits drop and they aren't making any more money... Maybe I'm being too cautious!

recoveryone wrote: »

Here's one I did years ago at the Calfornia Speedway for a buddy it was two years before Youtube found the music I used. http://youtu.be/6P_J5R4Vwyk

VERY cool video. And case in point... I liked the music and am probably heading to Amazon to buy it!!!

scubalab

nspindel wrote: »

I've had this happen to me as well. I was the photographer for my son's football team last year, and after the season I put together a slide show and set it to music, exported it to a video, and uploaded to youtube. Played just fine for me. But when others tried to view it they got the same error that you're seeing. I went in and did the acknowledgment, I checked the option saying I had the right to use the music, and all was fine from there. What are the exact legalities here? No clue. If someone decides they want to come after me over a kid's football slideshow, I guess I'll deal with it then...

As of right now, my videos are still up and as far as I know, still viewable by friends/family. I have not yet hit the 'acknowledge' button but will.

I completely understand protecting intellectual property. And maybe this is just another evolution of the whole copyright/ownership of digital content. If I were an artist, I'd want to ensure that my music wasn't getting copied for free, or being used to somehow benefit someone else while hurting my profits. But, I'd also jump at the opportunity to get more sales through someone else's advertising for me. Maybe this is a means to an end...

Thanks everyone for the input!

PSOVLSK

scubalab wrote: »

Also, our kids' elementary school has family movie night a couple times a year. I know they don't get any prior approval!

Each school/district is probably different, but I know my school gets approval to show a movie on "Movie Night." I don't know the details, but I think there is a small fee.

By the way, I agree with you about your video. I know an artists intellectual property has to be protected, but some things are just ridiculous. In think your "free advertising" take on it is pretty accurate in your case.